The Tree of Life Project: Creating an open phylogenetic database of biodiversity information

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This project will transform the Tree of Life from a collection of static web pages containing information about biodiversity and phylogeny into a dynamic system using a relational database. The Tree of Life Project is a global, collaborative effort of more than 300 biologists. The project's goals range from informal science education to serving the research needs of systematic biologists, as well as other life scientists whose work benefits from an understanding of the special characteristics and phylogenetic relationships of organisms. In order to convert the Tree into a database-driven system, the project will design database and associated display and data entry modules. The content of the Tree's current pages will then be moved into this database, and customizable, open-source tools will be created for the dynamic presentation of information and for efficient entry of new data into the system. The database will be constructed to allow communication between the Tree and other biological databases. The major benefits of the Tree's new format are expansion of the project's reach through data sharing with other database efforts and novel flexibility in presentation of information allowing us to better serve the needs of diverse users.